Strength of a woman: Against all odds in frontier societies

Published on September 27, 2007, 12:00 am

By Boniface Ongeri and Moses Njagih

Nature, politics, socio-cultural issues and religion seem to have colluded to marginalise women in communities living in North Eastern Province (NEP). The situation on the ground is so bad that only three women from the entire province have garnered enough resources, courage and confidence to declare an interest in contesting parliamentary posts in the coming General Election. The province has 11 constituencies. Another 20 women politicians will be vying for civic seats in various wards across the region.

Those interested in making laws in Parliament include Zeinabu Mohamed, Amina Sheikh Hashim and Marian Hussein.

Zeinabu will be locking horns with Sheikh Dahir, the incumbent Member for Lagdera Constituency. Amina will battle it out with Abdirahaman Hussein Olow, the Wajir South MP and Assistant Minister for Trade and Industry, while Marian will try to elbow her way into Parliament past Adan Sugow, the sitting Fafi MP and Assistant Minister for Water and Irrigation.

No cowards

Because some conservative residents and men politicians have written these women off, the campaign efforts made by these ladies between now and Election Day will be a show of women’s strength and endurance in an environment made difficult by sexism.

"Men politicians have failed my constituents and communities living in NEP as a whole. It is time women were given a chance to offer what I believe is a better leadership," Zeinabu says and continues, "We expect the campaigns to be extremely dirty and rough, especially against us [women] but we will not be cowed."

The politicians say their interest in elective politics is mainly inspired by Sophia Abdi Nur, who was the first woman from NEP to offer herself for election to Parliament, in 1997. Sophia tried to capture the Ijara Constituency seat and came a very strong second behind Idle Mohammed with 2,400 votes against 2,500. Ten years later, Sophia insists she was rigged out.

She still rues the day: "Two ballot boxes disappeared when two ECK officials died in a grisly road accident on Election Day. Am very sure I would have won if the contents of the two boxes were accounted for."

Now a coordinator for WomanKind, an NGO operating in NEP, Sophia will not be in politics owing to family commitments. However, she will be drumming up support for women aspirants in the province.

In the past, women from this area have sat back to wait for men to nominate them for political posts at various levels. Now this brand of politicians concur that they want to put that trend firmly in the past and kill their own prey instead of being political scavengers.

And for obvious reasons nature seems to have reserved socio-economic troubles and acute sexism for women from pastoral communities. But they (women) across the board in these remote areas are no longer taking this lying down.

Of lions and shares

Sample this: Among lions it is the lioness that hunts and brings the bacon home, but no one ever says "as strong as a lioness". Among the Maa-speaking communities, women are literally the homemakers: they build huts unaided, in which entire families live. This chore is a cultural responsibility for women in which men do not take part.

Yet, women are the most marginalised in these communities. Among the Maa speakers, women do not own property (read livestock) neither are they supposed to make leadership decisions.

Indeed, leadership proper is reserved for clans where an Oloibon (a sage/seer) is a patriarchal figure. Woe unto you, if you hail from a clan that has never been blessed to by an Oloibon in somewhere in the mists of the past and you aspire to lead electively. And since all Oloibons are men, women are automatically knocked out of leadership be it elective or otherwise.

Maasai men, for example, believe women exist only to be seen and not to be heard.

Nevertheless, Maasai women are asserting themselves, though in small, incremental ways. They want to assert their relevance in society. And is there a better way than elective politics?

As reported in the previous issue of Election Platform, Peris Tobiko will go into the history books as the first Maasai woman to declare an interest in an elective parliamentary seat. Peris is also the first Maasai woman to serve as a District Officer.

At lower political ranks, more than a dozen other Maasai women have declared their interest in contesting civic seats in various wards in the larger Kajiado, Trans Mara and Narok districts. In Narok North Constituency, Agnes Pareiyio wants to take Sakutek Ward, while Lorna Kowua goes for Ildamat Ward and Patricia Sadera is gunning for Majengo Ward. In Narok South, Hellen Kipetu is confident of being in charge of Ildamat Ward, while Agnes Tuya is eying Naikara Ward, Lorna Nkowa is for Stadium Ward and Rosa Nkesoi and Salau Mokonka for Olkinyei and Ololunga wards respectively.

Magret Lousa wants to take Lorinka Ward in Kajiado Central Constituency, while Josephine Nasipai is the only civic aspirant in Kajiado North, where she wants to capture Magadi Ward. There are three civic candidates in Kilgoris Constituency.

In this area Caroline Ramet will be trying to smoke men politicians out from Oloirien Ward while Mary Nanyokie is eying Poroko Ward and Mary Sarsar is all set for Olalui Ward.